Moldova’s breakaway province
Transnistria asks Moscow for more troops
05/08/2023 7:23 p.m
With the invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine, concerns are also growing in neighboring countries. Moscow units have been stationed in the Transnistria province, which broke away from Moldova, for decades. Now the separatists there are asking the Kremlin for more soldiers.
According to an agency report, the breakaway Moldovan province of Transnistria has called on Russia to increase its armed forces due to growing security risks there. “As long as Russia’s peacekeeping mission continues, Moldova will not be able to implement military plans and preparations against Transnistria,” said the region’s envoy in Moscow, Leonid Manakov, according to the official Russian agency RIA. “Transnistria has repeatedly asked for an increase in Russian peacekeeping forces.” This is also justified because of the worsening of the security situation.
The self-proclaimed republic of Transnistria has been a breakaway from Moldova since 1990 and is ruled by pro-Russian separatists. The population is partly Ukrainian, partly Russian and partly Moldovan. Around 1,500 soldiers of the Russian army are stationed in Transnistria. The Republic of Moldova does not recognize the breakaway province as such and has not agreed to the stationing of Moscow’s troops. Under international law, Transnistria is still part of Moldova. The breakaway region is financed by the Kremlin.
After the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Moldova’s relations with the government in Moscow have hit rock bottom. The country with around 2.6 million inhabitants is increasingly oriented towards Europe and has been an EU accession candidate since the summer of last year. Moldova is currently accusing Russia of deliberately destabilizing the country.
It is feared that after Ukraine, Moscow could also attack Moldova. In February, Moldovan President Maia Sandu accused Russia of pursuing a concrete plan to overthrow her government with the help of saboteurs disguised as demonstrators. Sandu said she learned about the plan from Ukrainian intelligence. Moscow had denied the accusation.